


road to marei (ch3.2)

by itgirlsejuani



Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 19:06:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30076926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itgirlsejuani/pseuds/itgirlsejuani
Summary: short passage from an upcoming story.
Kudos: 1





	road to marei (ch3.2)

I close my eyes and feel the wind against my skin. Catch it in my human hand, feel it gently tug at the feathers of my wing.

Eric and I make eye contact, and I smile at him, and he smiles back with those sad eyes.

Hey, he says, can I braid your hair?

I grin. Yeah, I say, I'd like that.

I cross my legs and sit upright, and he sits behind me and gets to work. The fingers of his hand tickle my scalp at first, and then I find myself fighting the urge to sit still and not lean into his touch.

You know, he says, I used to have hair like yours.

Really! I exclaim. Wow.

Yeah, he says. I can feel him hesitate a moment. Hmm. Can I have you hold this?

I giggle a little, because I've never seen him this concentrated on something. I offer him my hand, and he takes it, and guides it to the strand of hair he wants me to hold. There we go, he says, thanks. I'm glad he can't see my face because I'm wearing an embarrassing grin and I'm blushing like I've never sat this close to him before.

Yeah, he continues. Used to have hair down to my belly. I was real proud of it too. Cut it for work eventually, he says. And then, well, I kept cutting it short. Never knew if it was the right choice or not.

You can let go now, he says, and I release the hair from my hand and feel him work the hair through his hand and claw, slowly but more confidently now. You're doing great, he says.

Yeah, I never knew if I was right to cut it off, he says, quieter. Felt like I’d given up a part of me.

At last it feels like he's gotten to the ends of my hair. He lets go and leans back, and I sit patiently.

Let me get the mirror, he mutters, and stands, and runs to the car. In a moment he's back with the mirror, and I look at myself.

I wish I recognized the person in the mirror, and that makes me want to cry. But I turn to him and say, It looks great. Thank you.

You're so pretty! he says. He looks around for a moment before retrieving a suitably bright flower from the grass. I close my eyes and tilt my head upward, and he holds my face gently with his claw hand, and I see how wide he is smiling as he plants the flower in one of the braids he’s created, and then he steps back and looks at me proudly. He shows me the mirror again. Look, he says.

I nod. I blink and there is water in my eyes. Oh, no, he says, I’m sorry if I—

No, I say quietly. I like it a lot. Thank you.

He nods.

I reach toward the mirror and he lets me tilt it so that we’re both in frame. I step back so he’s right behind me.

He puts one big arm around me and holds me gently.

I like your hair, I say to him. Maybe… 

I stop.

Maybe, I say, if we survive, you can grow it out again.

I let the mirror fall from my grip, and turn to him.

Maybe I can braid your hair for you then, I say, and I reach up to put my human hand on his face, running my fingers gently through his roots, pulling the hair back.

I’d like that, he says, and he puts his arms around me.  



End file.
